Radiation drive with a composite laser pulse shape

The objective is to develop a 6-ns Hohlraum environment on Omega for Be anisotropy studies. In particular, they are seeking an environment for Be isotropy studies with enough growth times to assess the suitability of Be for NIF ignition capsules. In 20 shots to date, we have: (1) synchronized 2 laser pulse shapes at Omega to obtain a smooth halfraum drive for ∼6 ns; (2) characterized the drive with Dante (∼180 eV peak); (3) obtained high quality VISAR data (using a mirror); (4) measured ejected Be sample velocity; (5) made the first estimates of Au migration to the axis of the vacuum halfraum; and (6) collected the first face-on x-ray images of sinusoidally perturbed Be samples. The immediate objective is to qualify a target for the Be studies. To that end, we hope: (1) to explore alternate foot drives; (2) optimize the radiography; and (3) to field and characterize gas-filled targets within the next 6 months.